Florence Naatz

Florence Ruby Naatz, age 102 of Austin, Minnesota. Florence passed away peacefully Sunday morning, September 8, 2019, at Sacred Heart Care Center in Austin, MN, surrounded by her loving family and outstanding caretakers. Florence, daughter of Emil and Mathilda (Koehn) Naatz, was born on June 21, 1917 in Udolpho Township, Minnesota. Florence attended Trinity Lutheran Church School. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Waltham, MN. Florence dedicated her life to taking care of others. She liked everything to be clean, neat, and in perfect order.  Florence’s first job was as a housekeeper in Austin, MN for Ben Hormel and his family. She would also travel with the Hormel family and take care of them while they vacationed.  Later in life, she was employed as a housekeeper at St. Marks Living in Austin, MN.  Florence finished out her career as a housekeeper at St. Olaf Hospital in Austin, MN, where she worked for 15 years.  After her retirement in January of 1985, Florence volunteered at St. Olaf Hospital for an additional 15 years. She thoroughly enjoyed her volunteer work, and her volunteer smock from the hospital remained one of her most prized possessions. Florence was very proud of the fact that she was one of the original residents of Pickett Place in Austin, MN. Keys to the long life that she enjoyed were: taking daily walks; enjoying nature, especially taking the time to stop and smell the flowers and look at the trees; keeping up to date on agricultural topics; cheering on the Minnesota Twins baseball team; eating lots of treats and sweets; maintaining a positive attitude; and displaying her strong, unshakable faith in God.  For her 100th birthday, Florence experienced her very first Blizzard from Dairy Queen, which she loved and thought was absolutely delicious.  Florence was always thinking of others and never wanted to be a burden to anyone.  Florence will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

Survivors include many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Emil and Mathilda Naatz; Five brothers, Harry, Raymond, George, Reuben, and Emil Naatz Jr; two sisters, Loretta Rappe and Evelyn Vacura.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 14, 2019 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Waltham, MN with Reverend Jesse Krusemark officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery, Waltham, MN. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to Trinity Lutheran Church, Waltham, MN or to Lutheran Hour Ministries www.lhm.org. Services are prearranged and performed with Worlein Funeral Home of Austin.